Bouillabaisse *

Bahan-bahan

• 3lbs White fish, filleted and skinned (choose thick fish), larger bite size

• 1lbs Large shrimp, cleaned, deveined

• 1lbs Mussels, cleaned

• 1/2lbs Small potatoes

• 1 Large onion, finely chopped

• 1 Small Fennel bulb, finely chopped

• 1 Roasted red bell pepper, chopped

• 3 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 4C Fish stock

• 1/2C Dry white wine

• 1lbs Tomato, cored & quartered

• 2-3 Pinch saffron

• 1/2 Orange zest

• Salt & pepper to taste

Bouquet Garni

• 3 Bay leaves

• In any combination of Thyme, parsley, fennel fronds/seed and basil

Arahan

• Put fish in a bowl w/ 2T olive oil, half of orange zest, garlic, saffron. Turn to coast well, cover & chill.

• To make the stock, heat 1T olive oil in a large Dutch oven/pot, add leek, onion, leek, and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onion soften. Add roasted bell pepper, fish stock, wine, garlic, bouquet garni, tomato, orange zest, saffron, bring to a boil & let simmer for 15 minutes.

• Bring the stock to a boil over medium heat, cook potatoes for 5-7 minutes. Add fish and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp & mussels, and continue simmering gently until all seafood is cooked.

• Salt & pepper to taste. Serve w/ toasted bread or croutons.

Nota

• When it comes to fish, fresh is the best but IQF is a good substitute, since freshness is the priority.

• White fleshed fish such as cod, red snapper, sea bass, haddock, porgy, mullet or grouper. Sea bass has the best taste but it’s rather expensive, so my choice is red snapper or cod.

• I tend to buy whole fish & have the fishmonger fillet the fish & save the bones for stock. You can just add water to cover (4-5C water) the fish bone/head and IP it for 15 minutes. If you roasted the fish head & bone 1st, it will give a richer flavor.

• I can’t do tomato, so I tend to omit tomato & double on saffron. To get the maximum saffron taste, I will broil fish stock w/ saffron & bouquet garni for 15 minutes while I prep for everything else.

• To get a “fancy” version of soup, blend the soup base after it is boiled w/ leek, onion, add roasted red bell pepper, then strain. Return the strained soup base back to pot & cook the seafood.